Black students' perception of the integrated school environment : how do the students feel? : a study of Black students in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the perceptions that students of African descent (Black students) have of the integrated school environment. Two hundred and sixty Black students attending sixteen junior and senior high schools located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, were surveyed. The participants were equally divided between males and females. At the time of the survey, they represented approximately fifty percent of the Black students attending public high schools in the city of Halifax.

The survey instrument also included two sections which allowed the students to state their impressions of the school environment in their own words. In one section, they were asked to indicate areas of concern not necessarily identified in the questionnaire, and in another, they were asked to state a positive change they would like to see in their schools. The results revealed that the perceptions of students attending the junior highs were significantly less negative than those attending senior high schools; and male students had more negative perceptions of their school environments than their female counterparts. It also showed that, in spite of a history of racism in the education system which the students acknowledged was still reflected in their schools, the most important concern of the Black students was the paucity of information about Black people in the curriculum.

It was recommended that programs should be developed to address the way that Black students attending integrated schools are taught; and, the information they are taught should be more reflective of their African heritage.